2011: The Year of Becoming Four

Christmas came and went in what now seems like the blink of an eye. In typical Patterson fashion we traveled all over the place, cramming in as much quality family time as humanly possible. Then the new year came, and we headed out of town again for Jason's cousin's wedding. But not before Jason and I both caught the flu and Marin came down with a nasty cold. Luckily, by 1.1.11- the day of the big wedding, we were all in nearly tip top shape and ready to boogie.

Marin especially boogied. Man, that girl loves a party, and she loves to dance. And at her first wedding where she attended the reception (she went to my brother's wedding in June of 09, but she was just a tiny peanut so we sent her home with Aunt Vee after the ceremony) she hit the dance floor like she was born to be there. And don't think she didn't shake her rump proud and high in the air when the DJ played "Baby Got Back". She was the hit of the dance floor, and she danced until she was so tired, that after nearly three solid hours of jumping, running and shakin' her grove thang, she literally was just laying on the dance floor on her back. And even then, when I took her up to bed at almost 11pm, she cried saying, "No mommy. Dance! Dance!"


But let's rewind a little bit to Christmas. Marin got into Santa (or as she says, "Sahhnta") this year much more than last. She knew who he was and when asked, "What does Santa say?" replied, "Ho, Ho, Sahhnta!" But she didn't really get that he brought presents. So at the first big gift opening at Pappy and Nana's house on Christmas Eve, Marin sat bug eyed and a little shocked for a little bit. Then she'd open a present and want to play with only that one toy. When we encouraged her to open another present she got cranky, wondering why she had to abandon the first thing she opened and was playing with for the gamble of what would be in the next package. If we let her take things at her own pace, we'd still be opening presents. Her thinking is right though. Less is more. For Marin, the highlight of Christmas Eve at Pappy and Nana's was when Santa visited all the way from the North Pole! Marin didn't mind this Santa too badly, although Daddy thought for sure he sounded like a NASCAR announcer.

After a group cousins bath, we snuggled into our Christmas pj's and headed home at Marin's bedtime. There was a lot of snow on Christmas Eve night, so it took us 4 1/2 hours to get home- nearly 2 hours longer than it normally would have- but Marin didn't even wake up for a minute. We carried her right to her crib, where she woke up on Christmas morning excited about all the "nos" (snow) on the ground. Luckily Rudolph was able to help Santa brave the storm, and he came to our house while Marin was sleeping. He left her all kinds of goodies, but I don't know what she was more excited about- the presents by the fireplace, or the fact that Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Jake and Aunt Katy were all there when she woke up. "Namma! Nampa! Jake! Daty!" After we opened all of Santa's presents we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house for even more presents! Marin was royally spoiled with a fancy new pram doll stroller, a dolly to go in the stroller, a new monogrammed chair, and too many other gifts to list. A brunch, a bath, and an outfit change later, we were all freshened up and ready for another party on Christmas day at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Marin was excited to get to wear her tights and fancy shoes again. Wonder how long that will last. :)


I know what you're thinking... that's a lot. But wait, wait. There's more. The next day we suited up in our tights and fancy shoes again, and hit the road for yet another Christmas celebration! This time we headed for my Aunt Jeanie and Uncle Reed's house. Including Marin, there are five kids total now, and they'll be two more next year. It really makes it fun. My cousins and I gave my Grandparents, who celebrated their 66th married Christmas together, a special tribute pointing out all of the non material gifts that they had given us over the years. Gifts like how they taught us the true meaning of kindness and friendship, and helping friends and neighbors and community members in need. Gifts like volunteerism, laughter, organization, care taking, card playing and discipline. We wrote them all down, and wrapped them all up in a treasure box for them to keep.


In the days that followed we had our 2nd annual Christmas lunch with Grandma (a fun afternoon at a fancy restaurant in Geneva), hosted a few overnight guests, celebrated Jason's best friend's birthday with his family, did a little more work on the bathroom remodel, cheered the Illini to a bowl game victory, enjoyed a visit from Jason's cousin in town from Florida, and attended a lot of tea parties hosted by Marin.

This week we've done lots of resting, putting life back to "normal" and mommy's trying desperately to regain the nap schedule. The Christmas lights are all down, the laundry is all clean and tucked away in our drawers (well, mostly) and the Christmas trees are bare and out at the curb waiting for pick up early next week. 2011 is here! And what a year it will be! As I wrapped up a Santa decoration and Marin sadly said, "Bye bye Sahhnta", I realized that the next time I brought that Santa out, there would be another little baby in our house. And that Marin would probably be calling Santa by name sans the random English accent. (Panic! Did I get it on video?!) Our family is growing, and Marin is growing up. As much as I wish I could slow down time sometimes, I can't. Ready or not, 2011 is here. And this is the year we become four!